


Hot Coffee Lovin

by Syalin



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, BUT ONLY ONCE, Bullying, Bullying?, Closeted Character, Coming Out, Existential Angst, Father is a scumbag we hate him, Fluff, Gay Panic, Greed is 24, Homelessness, Homophobia, Homophobia Warning, Homophobic Language, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Internal Conflict, Internal gay turmoil, Light Angst Later, Ling Yao is 23, Love Confessions, M/M, Mutual Pining, Original Greed, Past Abuse, Pining, Short Chapters, Slow Burn, Sort Of, Strangers to Friends to Lovers, Use of the f slur, catching feelings, coffee shop AU, devil’s nest gang, enby envy, fear of being disowned, greed is terrible at his job, kimblee is homophobic, non binary envy, tags to be added with each chapter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-07
Updated: 2021-01-28
Packaged: 2021-03-18 17:27:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 8,117
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28621785
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Syalin/pseuds/Syalin
Summary: [ON HIATUS] Struggling to find a job after being released from prison on parole, Greed finds himself working for Amestris Coffee, a small coffee shop that is willing to take in convicts and is Greed’s only chance at a stable life in rehabilitation from his criminal past. As he works, he meets Ling Yao, a fellow barista and one of the only people to ever show Greed proper kindness.
Relationships: Dolcetto | Dorochet/Roa | Law, Greed/Ling Yao
Comments: 10
Kudos: 18





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Heyo!!! I know I currently have another work in progress but I HAD to get this idea out on paper! I have never written a coffee shop au before but I hope you all enjoy! Kudos and comments are always appreciated!

“This place?” Greed huffed, slamming the car door behind him looking up at the sign above the store that read Amestris Coffee. 

“Well its not my fault that you decided to go and get a criminal record.” His parole officer sighed. “This is the only place that would remotely be willing to hire you, so don’t fuck it up.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Greed waved dismissively as he opened the door to the coffee shop, pouting grumpily. “I wont fuck up the interview.”

As Greed entered the building, a small bell chimed above him and he was greeted by a warm smile from the cashier. The cashier had long, blonde hair pulled back into a bun and proud brown eyes that stared Greed down from the countertop. 

“Hi, what can I get for you sir?” She spoke warmly.

“Actually I’m here for an interview.” Greed said with a sigh, watching as the cashier’s expression turned from joyful to deadly serious in an instant.

“So you’re the convict.” She spoke, glaring at Greed, watching as the convict winced at the statement and all eyes in the cafe turned to glower at him, including some of the employees. “Come with me to the back and we’ll start your interview.” The cashier sighed as she stepped out and away from the countertop, leading Greed to an employee’s only door that led to their back rooms. 

Greed hurriedly followed her into the back rooms as she took him to the manager’s office which was a very small space with two chairs set on either side of a desk. Sitting behind the desk was an elderly man with a comically oversized gray moustache and small round glasses perched atop a large nose, the lenses glinting in the light hiding shifty little eyes scrunched together with aged wrinkles.

“Mr. Grumman, this is the convict here for his interview.” The cashier spoke, anger seeping into her voice as she shoved Greed into the room agressively.

“Thank you, Riza.” The man smiled motioning for the cashier to close the door behind her as she exited the room.

Greed stood in an awkward silence as he eyed the seat and the man with caution, unsure wether or not he should sit down or remain standing. 

“Please! Take a seat!” The man beamed in a carefree manner. “I have but a few questions for you!”

Greed slowly pulled back the chair in front of the desk and rounded it, taking a seat in front of the man and nervously preparing for questions. Greed tensed as the man’s beady eyes laid upon his hand, gazing at the red ouroboros tattoo etched into his skin.

“If you’re going to ask if I can cover this tattoo, then its a no.” Greed growled out defensively. “It’s very important to me that it remain as visible as possible.”

“That wasn’t the question I was going to ask, dear boy. I was merely admiring the artwork!” The man chuckled, sitting back in his chair. “So Greed The Avaricious, first middle and last name? That’s your legal name?”

“Yes sir.” Greed responded proudly with a nod. “I had it legally changed for personal reasons.”

“How facinating.” The man said, looking over the paperwork in front of him. “And you are 24 years old already with this record?”

“Yes.” Greed said sheepishly. “I got into trouble a lot in my youth.”

“Not just that, there is a lot on here.” The man spoke, slapping the paper and sighing, his hands moving as his fingers folded together on top of his desk, his face taking on a sterner demeanor. “In your own words, what are your crimes?” 

“My crimes? Theft mostly. I stole from atms, jewlery stores, a meuseum once, stole drugs too at one point, n-not that I ever used them.” Greed admitted honestly. “But that was the past! I’m trying to go clean here! Yeah I’ve been in and out of the system but I’m trying to go clean!”

“That’s all I needed to hear.” The man said, standing up from behind his desk.

“What?” Greed gasped out in shock, leaping upwards and slamming his hands on the wood of the desk. “Please just give me a chance I-“ Greed was cut off abruptly by old wrinkled hands clasping around his own, and shaking them with a vigorous force.

“Welcome to Amestris Coffee!” The man beamed. “You’re hired!”

Greed blinked a few times in disbelief, his jaw agape as his hand was shaken by this old man. “T-thank you????” 

“I’ll see you in a week to teach you all about being a barista here!” The man smiled. “Just call me Mr. Grumman! Everybody does!”

As Greed left the cafe ins hock, his parole officer waved at him, beconing him over.

“How’d it go?” She asked him, her icy cold expression not leaving her face as a chilling winter wind blew through her golden hair.”

“I got the job Mrs. Armstrong, sir.” Greed said with a shocked smile. “I got the job!”


	2. Chapter 2

Adjusting to the new job was difficult for Greed. He had to memorize the entire menu and was expected to be able to make any drink flawlessly. What’s worse is the other employees that he worked with never treated him right. Havoc, the scruffy, blonde chainsmoker was always trying to flirt with the customers and hardly did any work. Usually, if Riza was on shift, she’d keep him in line but unfortunately for Greed, today was her day off.

With a loud, clattering crash Greed was snapped out of his thoughts as he dropped, and broke, another cup. Hot coffee spilt everywhere across the cream tile floors, making a grand mess as Greed stooped down, a curse uttered just underneath his breath as he began to painstakingly pick up the larger shards of ceramic with his hands.

“Again Greed?!” Havoc groaned. “Man and just as I was bout to give that hot chick over there my phone number!”

“Greed you really are completely worthless.” Roy sighed, handing him a dustpan in disgust. “I don’t know why Mr. Grumman ever bothered to hire a convict like you. You’ve been nothing but trouble.”

Greed snatched the dustpan out of Roy’s hand, doing his best to ignore him but his words cut deep into his heart, anger bubbling up inside of him but he could do nothing because any type of retaliation would likely be seen as dangerous or threatening. Instead, Greed merely resigned himself to picking up at the tiny pieces of ceramic up off the floor and placing them into a dustpan, the scalding hot liquid slightly burning his fingertips as he gathered the smaller pieces. 

Suddenly, a bright flash of a yellow apron entered Greed’s vision, causing him to look up and meet the kind, gentle eyes of someone new. The steely gray eyes that held such a kind gaze were hidden by the squinted nature of the man’s eyes, and the man had long black hair tied back into a low ponytail that fell down his shoulder like a beautiful ebony waterfall as he beamed an unfaltering smile, even in the face of the convict. 

“So you’re the newbie?” The man asked, following Greed as he stood up from his crouched position. From there, Greed noticed a significant height difference between the two of them, Greed being at least a foot taller than the smaller one. “Need some help?”

“I’m fine on my own, thank you very much.” Greed snarled down. “You don’t need to mock me with that dopey grin you pissant.”

“Oh I’m not mocking you!” The man said, his smile staying as bright as ever as he handed Greed a mop. “I’m Ling Yao, what’s your name?”

“Greed.” Greed introduced harshly, swiping the mop out of Ling’s hands and starting to clean up his mess. 

“Oh so you’re the convict everybody’s been talking about!” Ling said as he watched Greed clean up the mess. “No wonder you’re not well liked around here!”

“You don’t have to like me for me to contribute.” Greed snarled as he finished mopping up his mess. “Just stay out of my way.”

“No can do!” Ling beamed. “You have no friends here, therefore, I’ll be your friend!”

“What makes you think I even want a friend?” Asked Greed stubbornly. 

“Well who else is gonna teach you the ropes around here?” Ling chuckled, moving over to the register to clock in. “You need a friend, Greed.”

“Fine,” Sighed Greed, walking over to prepare the order again. “I guess I’ll let you stick around me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys are enjoying the fic so far!! I have big plans for angst in later chapters as well as special appearances from some beloved characters! Stay tuned! ;3 
> 
> And please feel free to leave comments and kudos if you are enjoying this!


	3. Chapter 3

“Fuck!” Greed screamed as steam from the machine hissed against his skin, burning him harshly. 

“Watch your language!” Ling chuckled, walking by with a tray full of dirty cups that he swiftly and gently deposited in the sink with a clatter.

It had been a few weeks of work since Ling had been transferred over to his shift, and honestly Greed should have known to be more careful with the frother, this not being his first time getting burnt by the damn thing.

“Hey it’s not my fault the steam comes out by the handle of this thing!” Greed growled, doing his best to finish the order even with a burned hand.

“Here,” Ling spoke, taking the cup from Greed’s hands. “I’ll finish the order, you go run your arm under some cold water, take care of that burn.”

“I can handle myself!” Greed spoke, obeying Ling anyways and turning on the sink’s cold water, wincing a little at the pain. 

“Sure thing Greed,” chuckled Ling who began on the latte art. “Sure thing.”

Greed peered over Ling’s shoulder as he did the latte art, amazed by how skilled Ling seemed to be with these kinds of things. It was always amazing to watch him work, those skilled, slender hands guiding the cream into the honey brown liquid with perfection, little white hearts appearing in the froth.

“You’re really good at that.” Greed said as he dried his arm off and walked over to admire Ling’s work closer, genuinely impressed.

“Here!” Ling smiled gleefully, placing the creamer into Greed’s hands. “I’ll show you!”

Greed watched as Ling’s hands grazed over his own, those agile fingers gently guiding his hand into pouring the creamer carefully into the darker brown liquid, his eyes widening in awe as the coffee clouded into a delicious caramel color with white cream on top as Ling’s hands then guided his wrists to move just perfectly, making a little heart in the coffee. 

“And that’s how you do it!” Ling announced proudly, taking his hands away from Greed’s. “It takes a bit of practice, but I’m sure you’ll get the hang of it!”

“Y-yeah... I’ll practice.” Greed spoke, watching as Ling picked up the tray and waltzed over to a table, smiling with pure joy as he made small talk with the customers.

It was in that moment of watching Ling’s chest heave with light laughter and smile brighter than the sun that Greed’s heart began to pound, a blush rising to his cheeks as his heart soared and fluttered as if it had grown wings. Greed was lost to the world as he stared at Ling, only being snapped out of it by Havoc giving him a hearty smack on his upper back.

“Greed! Stop staring at Ling’s customers so much and get back to work!” He shouted angerly.

“You’re one to talk.” Mumbled Greed as he went to the register to take another order.

“At least I actually get the girls and don’t just gawk at them!” Havoc chuckled after Greed finished taking the order. 

“I wasn’t gawking at the girls!” Greed defended, his face flushing brighter with embarrassment as he started on the next order, thankfully a cold drink. 

“Oh yeah? Then who were you making goo-goo eyes at?” Havoc snickered. “Certainly not Ling!”

“Shut up man!” Greed mumbled, his face even redder than before.

“Never. I’m always gonna mess with you like this.” Beamed Havoc. “Now I’m goin out back for a smoke break, you hold down the fort.

“Aye, aye captain.” Greed mocked, rolling his eyes as Havoc left through the back door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think the way I’m going to write this one is short little coffee shop ministories about the two’s friendship before we start getting too deep into the relationship and light angst later but I’m having fun with this one! I can only hope its not too cringy! Anyways I hope you guys are enjoying it and remember to please leave a comment and a kudos if you so desire! :3


	4. Chapter 4

“So is your name actually Greed?” Ling asked one particularly slow day as he wiped down countertops. 

Sundays were always rather slow, so they usually only had two people on shift, meaning that Ling had all the time in the world to hang out with Greed on shift. In a way, he was grateful that it was slow, that way he had an excuse to talk to Greed, to hear him talk about his life and who he was, though it was often hard to get information out of him.

“Yeah. I got it legally changed.” Greed said calmly as he shoved a rag into the cups, drying them out as he cleaned them. 

“Care to tell me why?” Ling pried, watching as Greed flinched lightly as he set the cup down.

“I don’t really want to talk about it.” Greed grumbled, looking down at the counter shamefully.

“Alright let’s change the subject then.” Ling said with an awkward tone, clearly seeing Greed’s discomfort. Ling looked around for something else to talk about, his eyes lowering and landing on the flash of the glorious red tattoo on Greed’s left hand. “What about that tattoo? There’s gotta be a story behind that!”

“Well, I suppose I could tell you a little bit about my tattoo.” Greed chuckled as he held up his hand and looked over his tattoo with a fond expression. “You see, I have 6 other siblings, and we were all pretty close with each other. So one day, we all decided to get this tattoo somewhere on our bodies, my eldest brother got the tattoo on his eyeball somehow!”

“That’s incredible!” Ling said with a smile, glad he could finally get some information out of Greed. “I can’t even imagine what a tattoo on your eye would be like!”

“Yeah...” Greed sighed, looking at his tattoo as if memorizing every little design. “When I was in prison I would stare at this all the time, I haven’t seen my siblings in years.”

“Do you miss them?” Ling asked, immediately regretting it. Of course he missed them! What kind of dumb question was that?! “I’m sorry that was a dumb question.” Ling chuckled awkwardly. 

“No, it’s okay. I don’t think it’s dumb.” Greed said, setting his hand down as he looked at Ling with soft, violet eyes filled with sorrow. “To tell you the truth, I’ve been avoiding my family for a while. Yeah I miss them, but what would they think when they see me? When they find out I just got out of prison? Would they hate me?” 

Ling’s eyes softened and he walked over to Greed, gently placing his hands over the tattoo and looked deep into those hurt, violet eyes with a serious expression. 

“Listen to me Greed,” Ling began softly and seriously. “Family is family. No matter what happens, they wont hate you, I promise. They love you as their brother and I’m sure they miss you too.”

“You mean that?” Greed asked, his voice quaking as he held back tears. 

“Of course I do.” Ling said, leaping over the countertop with ease and wrapping his arms around Greed.

Greed trembled as he felt Ling’s arms wrap around him and he shakily moved his own arms to wrap around Ling as he stifled his cries, only a few tears leaking out of his face to which he quickly hid them. 

“Thanks Ling.” He sniffled thrroigh the embrace. “You really are a good friend.”

“Anytime big guy.” Ling smiled, his chin resting on Greed’s chest as he beamed up at Greed. “Anytime.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies that these chapters are so short! I can only write so much sometimes! Like I have good scene ideas but I can only do so much in one chapter! Still hope you guys are having fun and remember that you are welcome to leave comments and Kudos!


	5. Chapter 5

It was Sunday again, and Greed was on edge. He wasn’t sure why, but he felt like something was bound to happen today. It was an ordinarily quiet day, Ling was behind the counter and Greed was cleaning the tables, nothing seemed out of the ordinary except for Greed’s attitude.

“Hey, Greed.” Ling called out, waving to get the other’s attention. “Are you doing okay? You’ve had that weird expression on your face all day!”

“I don’t know.” Greed sighed, wiping his hands on his black apron. “I just feel like I’m forgetting something, or that today is too calm. I feel like something is gonna happen today and I have no idea why.”

Just as Greed finishes that thought, the bell above the door rings violently as the door is flung open violently by a very short, and very angry person. The person had long black hair with green highlights and was wearing a rather revealing outfit consisting of a tight fitting crop top and a skirt. Just on the outside of their left thigh was a very familiar red ouroboros tattoo. Ling wasn’t able to get a single word out before the person bolted straight for Greed with a scream that demanded attention and quite possibly war.

“GREED THE AVARICIOUS!” The person screeched. “How dare you go to prison and not even bother telling me you got out until you’re drunk on a Friday evening!”

“Envy? What the hell are you doing here?” Greed said in confusion as he attempted to stop the light punches that were wailing on his chest from the smaller person. 

“Friday night, you decided to get so drunk that you called me whining all about how you just got out of prison and blah blah blah and how you worked at this new coffee shop or whatever!” Envy pouted, puffing out their lower lip childishly. “And you didn’t even invite me for a drink!”

“Did you come all this way just to nag me?” Greed groaned, as Envy crossed their arms and glared at him. 

“Of course not!” Envy snarked. “I haven’t heard from my little brother in years! I wanted to make sure you were still the same dweeby you that you’ve always been!”

“So Greed, are you going to introduce me?” Ling snickered from across the counter. 

“Ling, this is my sibling Envy.” Greed sighed. “I must have called them while I was drinking last Friday.”

“And boy was it pathetic!” Envy cackled, teasing their younger brother. “You shoulda heard him! He was sobbing and sniffling and talking all about how he missed-“

Envy couldn’t get another word out before Greed slapped a hand over their mouth. “Finish that sentence and you’re as good as dead.” Greed growled out before Envy’s eyes wrinkled with a grin and Greed’s hand quickly flew away in disgust. “Did you just fucking lick my hand?!”

Envy cackled with glee as they wiped the drool off the side of their lips with the back of their wrist. “Maybe.” They drawled out, a smirk playing across their lips.

“Anyways,” Greed sighed, a smile playing across his own lips and a gentle expression glinting in his eyes. “Can I get you anything? On the house, for old times sake.”

“Sure, a hot chocolate would be nice!” Envy said, sitting themself down on a barstool by the counter. “It’s been getting a lot colder these days.”

“Ain’t that the truth.” Greed sighed, moving behind the counter as he rung up Envy’s order.

“Let me handle this one.” Ling piped up cheerfully. “We all know you hate making hot chocolates.”

“No. No I’ve got it.” Greed said taking the cup out of Ling’s hand.

“Man this coworker of yours is really something.” Envy teased with a snort. “You two already act like an old married couple! Are you like, a thing?”

“We’re not a thing Envy!” Greed shouted, his face flushing bright red at the comment. 

“Yeah, we’re just friends.” Ling added nonchalantly, his hand waving dismissively. 

“Just friends huh?” Envy smirked, their eyebrows raising as they eyed Greed suspiciously. “Sure, we’ll say that.”

Greed fumed as he did his best to make the hot chocolate for his sibling. He and Ling really were just friends! Nothing more! Why did Envy have to make it seem that way? Greed shook his head, shaking the thoughts away as he finished, sliding the cup over to Envy who took it gratefuly, handing over their card to pay for it. 

Aa the day winded down and Envy finished their cup of hot chocolate, they wrapped up conversation for the day, heading out with a big middle finger to their brother and a quick, “Call me more often or else!”

All in all the day left Greed wondering about Envy’s words. Did he like Ling? Or was Ling just a really good friend? As the two baristas closed for the night, it was all Greed could do but think about it and watch as Ling counted the money in the register, making sure it was all accounted for. Ling’s skin was illuminated by the soft oranges and pinks of the sunset that shone through the windows, perfect and flawless and appearing soft to the touch. His hair shone just as beautiful, the black making the pinks turn into deep purples as the light carressed the shadows of his skin. 

And then there it was, that feeling again, that beating in his chest, that feeling like his heart had flown out of his chest and into the clouds with a thunderous pounding like the beating of powerful wings. Greed sighed as he looked away from Ling and back to his work. Even if he did like Ling, that didn’t mean Ling liked him back. Knowing how Ling was, he was probably a laidies man, though more polite than Havoc would be. And if Greed liked Ling, what did that make him? He had never thought himself to be gay before, but now that all changed, it changed with Ling in his life. If he was gay, would Ling still like him? He knew that Envy would at least respect him, since Envy was non-binary, but that didn’t guarantee that the rest of his family would like him. Hell, he might even be disowned over it. He had to keep this a secret.

For his own good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow this chapter was a doosey to write at 2 am but boy howdy was it still fun! Sorry for any grammatical or spelling mistakes/typos, I do not have a beta and edit all of my own work as I go and some things do slip through the cracks but I hope you are all still enjoying this now that the roller coaster is in motion and there is gay turmoil and angst!!! :D  
> I would appreciate if you guys left comments or kudos if you so desire, anyways last chapter update for the night, hope you all have a good day!


	6. Chapter 6

Boots crunched against soft, fresh fallen snow as Greed maneuvered his way through the streets, his hands tucked into his coat where fingertips caressed the heat that seeped from pocket warmers. He had just finished his shift at Amestris Coffee, his mind filled with images of Ling’s smiling face as he walked to his shady apartment complex, glowering at the shady characters who even dared to think of mugging him. Its not like he had anything good on him anyways, he did live in a sketchy apartment complex in a sketchy part of town, that alone should show people that he had nothing worth stealing on him.

As Greed was lost in his own thoughts, he barely noticed the feeling of a hand sliding sneakily into his back pocket, searching for something to snag. Greed reached around, grabbing the wrist of the hand in a vice-like grip and swinging himself around, tearing the hand out of his pocket in the process. Greed twirled himself around, angry violet eyes meeting with shocked green ones as a mess of blonde hair tumbled out from underneath a beanie. A feeling of familiarity washed over Greed as he eyed the deep green tattoo that ran up the pick pocket’s neck and onto her cheek in a serpentine fashion.

“Greed?” She spoke, breathless and shocked.

“Martel?” Greed repeated back, equally as shocked.

“Holy shit you’re out of jail!” Martel squeaked excitedly, snaking her arm out of Greed’s grasp and reversing it, grabbing Greed by the wrist instead as she started dragging him to an alleyway. “Oh follow me! The gang will be so excited to see you again!”

“Listen, about that.” Greed began, but to no avail as he was dragged through alleyways and to the old abandoned train yard he used to call home.

In the train yard there was an old rusty boxcar, the door slightly agape as a large man built like an ox with graying hairs sat smoking a pipe as he looked out into the snow where a rambunctious youngster was dashing through snowpiles as he pushed around the lower half of a snowman.

“C’mon Roa!” The youngster barked out like a dog. “C’mon ya gotta help me push this! It’s gonna be the biggest and best snowman ever!”

“Dolcetto! Roa! I’m back and snagged us the best thing!” Martel announced, waving the two men down.

“What could you possibly have that-“ The youngster, Dolcetto, spoke before his eyes laid upon Greed’s face. “GREED!” 

Greed had no warning before the young man charged at him, full speed and tackled him into a hug, the two of them falling backwards into a snowbank. Dolcetto beamed, tears pricking his eyes as he smiled at Greed.

“Oh you’re back! You’re really, really back!”

“Get off me Dolcetto!” Greed groaned, shoving the young man off of his chest. “It’s cold out here!” 

“Sorry about him.” Chuckled the burly man as he walked over to where Greed lay stuck in the snow bank and reached out his hand to help Greed back to his feet. “It’s wonderful to see you’re out of prison again Greed! We missed you.”

“Thanks Roa.” Greed groaned as he was yanked to his feet by the beast of a man. “But I’m not here to stay. Martel kind of just, dragged me here.”

“As she does, but where would you be going?” Roa chuckled, smiling a little bit as Dolcetto took Roa’s large fingers into his hand adorably.

“Yeah! Your home is here!” Dolcetto chirped, leaning against his boyfriend with a welcoming smile. 

“Actually,” Greed began, looking at the snowy ground awkwardly. “I have an apartment. I’m no longer homeless, I mean I got a job-“

“Thats great!” Dolcetto smiled, pain hiding behind his gaze as tears fell from his eyes, chilling his face as the snow fell ever more. “But you won’t leave us now, right? You won’t forget about us?”

“Of course not Dolcetto!” Greed spoke quickly, putting his hands on the black haired man’s shoulders as he looked deeply into green eyes. “You know I never tell lies, especially not after I’ve turned over a new leaf. I’m not abandoning you guys, I just live somewhere else now.”

“And you said you had a job?” Martel spoke up, a hand on her hip as she smiled at the glorious reunion. “You have one hell of a record Greed, and you hate being told what to do!”

“It’s a coffee shop, it’s called Amestris Coffee.” Greed answered.

“Oh I know that place!” Roa said suddenly. “I sometimes go and snag the bagels and muffins they throw out on Sundays when it gets slow!”

“But I’m curious as to why Greed even works there at all and hasn’t been fired yet! He hates following rules!” Martel giggled.

“Well...” Greed began, blushing a little as he thought of Ling’s face, the way Ling would greet him every shift, the feeling if Ling’s slender fingers sliding over his own in passing touches. All of these thoughts swarmed his mind, leaving him utterly speechless and red in the face.

“Oh ho! So it’s a girl thats keeping you captive there!” Dolcetto smirked, giving Greed a playful jab in the side. “What a laidies man you’ve become!”

“N-no it’s not that it’s-“ 

“Oh so it’s a man!” Roa exclaimed with as much enthusiasm as his boyfriend, a hearty smile filling his face. “You lucky dog, you didn’t tell us you were gay!”

“I-I didn’t know. I kinda just found out?” Greed explained. “I mean it makes sense now that I think about it but I don’t know how my family will react! They’ll probably disown me, I know Father will most definitely, I mean he disowned Envy when they came out!”

“Well you don’t have to tell them.” Martel spoke up, her hand moving to rest comfortingly on Greed’s shoulder. “Besides we’re basically like your second family! So if they don’t accept you then we will!”

“Yeah man!” Dolcetto agreed, throwing his arm around Greed’s neck. 

“You guys...” Greed sniffled, tears flowing down his cheeks as Roa pulled them all into a warm hug. “Thank you!”

“We’re here for you, through thick or thin.” Roa said through the hug as Greed sobbed.

“What did I miss guys?” A voice piped up from behind them.

As Greed turned around, he saw a very short, bald man with a large nose, his arms full of food snagged from garbage cans and his clothes tattered and full of filth.

“Hey Bido.” Greed sniffled with a smile, inviting him into the group hug with the extension of his arm.

“M-mister Greed! You’re back!” Bido screamed, setting the food down as he ran into the hug excitedly.

It took a while to get Bido all caught up with the situation and the smaller man was thrilled to learn of Greed’s newfound sexuality, job, and housing. It didn’t take very long for the conversation from earlier to continue within the warmer confines of the boxcar around a warm firepit that the gang had made ages ago so that they were able to have fire inside the boxcar during the harsh winter months. 

“He’s so amazingly sweet, and kind and he’s just amazing in every way!” Greed continued on as he spoke about Ling, gushing about his appearance and his personality. “It’s like every time I look at him my heart feels like its flying!”

“Oh that reminds me of when I was still pining for Roa!” Dolcetto chuckled, leaning back in Roa’s lap and laying his head against the buff man’s chest. 

Roa hummed happily as he pulled the blanket tighter around his boyfriend, trapping the much needed heat closer to them as the cuddled for warmth. “So why haven’t you told this Ling person that you like him?”

“W-wha- are you crazy?!” Greed sputtered, the blush creeping further onto his face before he finally sighed. “I think he’s straight.” 

“How do you know?” Bido asked, munching into a stale piece of bread. “I mean you never know if someone’s gay or not! He could be into you!”

“Bido’s right,” Martel said. “I mean you don’t actually know if he’s into chicks, right?”

“Well I’ve never asked him,” Greed began. “But you can’t just ask someone that! It makes it awkward! And what if he hates me for being gay? You know how this world is.”

“Maybe, but if you don’t ask him, you’ll never know!” Dolcetto perked up.

“Give him a chance Greed!” Bido smiled. “I’m sure everything will be fine! He may even like you back!”

“You think so?” Greed asked, a smile passing onto his lips with ease. 

“What’s there not to like about you?” Roa chuckled. “You’re one hell of a man!”

“Thanks everyone.” Greed smiled, looking down at his hands. “I’ll ask him next time I see him.”

“Atta boy!” Martel congradulated, giving Greed a hearty slap on the back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one took a while to get down properly but I think it turned out fantastic! Please feel free to leave a comment and kudos!~ the fact that you guys are enjoying my work really makes my day with every comment yall leave me and I’m glad you guys are wnjoying this fic so far!


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! The notes are in the beginning here with this chapter for a special message!  
> DO NOT SKIP THIS MESSAGE
> 
> so this chapter is a bit more on the serious side, first of all it brings Kimblee into this and in my mind Kimblee is a very bad man so I write him as such. There is the use of the F slur (f*ggot) and it is not censored in this chapter. There is blatant homophobia in this chapter so please skip it if this is not your cup of tea. In the end notes I will add a TL:DR so you can have a basic understanding of what happened in this chapter so you arent lost in the future chapters. I do not condone usage of this slur in everyday use, and as someone who is gay myself this was a hard chapter to write, hence why it took so long to get out. 
> 
> Now that you’ve had your warning, I hope you enjoy this angst chapter!

The smell of fresh coffee filled Greed’s nose as he walked into the store, fully ready to work for the day. In his mind he ran through the situation over and over again, he was going to ask Ling if he was straight, quick and easy. Or at least it was supposed to be. As Greed walked into the main room, he was assulted by the loud noise of chatter and a very disheveled looking Ling at the register who quickly turned around, his hair loose and his expression panicked as he motioned Greed closer.

“Oh Greed thank goodness you’re finally here!” He exclamed with relief, shoving him in front of the register that had a line of customers behind it, all waiting for their orders to me taken. “Here, man the register, I have to make 7 different drinks and I called Roy in for backup.”

“A-alright!” Greed stammered out, starting to take on the monsoon of orders that left the skeleton crew they had drowning in orders.

After a few minutes of being swamped by orders, Roy finally showed up and assisted Ling in making the drinks while Greed did his best to greet every customer with a smile. Eventually, the crowd began to dwindle down and Greed wasn’t sure how much longer he could keep smiling for. He flinched as a hand gently rested on his shoulder, causing him to look over into the determined blue eyes of Riza.

“Hey, you did good Greed.” She spoke gently. “Go take a break with Ling, you both deserve it.”

Greed let out a shakey sigh of relief as he nodded, letting Riza take over as he headed to the breakroom, flopping down on the couch with a groan.

“Tell me about it.” Ling groaned from the armchair on the other side of the small room. “I don’t think we’ve ever had a crowd that big come in before!” 

The two just sat there in silence for a while, Green occasionally taking glances at Ling’s exhausted form sprawled out, his ponytail undone and his hair cascading around him like a black halo of light, causing Greed’s face to flush red with embarrassment once more. It’s now or never he thought to himself.

“Are you gay?” He blurted out abruptly, not meeting Ling’s eyes as they stared at him.

“What?” Ling asked, startled by the question.

“I said, are you gay?” Greed repeated, still avoiding eye contact. “Like, do you like men?”

“I know what being gay means, dumbass.” Ling chuckled with a devilish smirk. “But the real question is, why do you want to know?”

“I-I have my reasons!” Greed stammered.

“Oh?” Ling smirked, leaning forward in his chair. “Like what?”

“P-personal reasons!” Greed stammered out even more.

“Maybe it’s because he doesn’t want to associate with you queers.” A voice piped up from the doorway to which Ling’s cheeky grin turned into a frown as he looked up towards the doorway. 

“You stay out of this, Kimblee.” Ling said sternly, standing up and walking over to the doorway, prepared to slam the door in the man’s face.

Greed’s eyes wandered up towards the doorframe where a tall man stood, dressed in white and with a sinister glare in his eyes hidden behind a playful smirk. This man felt dangerous just to be around, he could see it in the coldly calm nature of his eyes and in that disgusted glare he shot down at the much shorter Ling. 

“Oh what? Am I interrupting your little fuck session?” Kimblee teased out with a drawl, his hand snatching Ling by the front of his shirt with a smirk. “Or should I just fuck you right here and now, you pathetic slut?”

“Don’t say stuff like that to him!” Greed snarled out, standing up firmly.

“Greed, don’t get involved!” Ling pleaded, desperation in his eyes. “I can handle him just fine on my own! Always have!”

Always have? Did this mean that Ling had dealt with Kimblee’s assults like this before?

“What are you gonna do about it, faggot? You never were the type to figt back before!”Kimblee smirked only to get a fist to the face from Greed who’s eyes were wild with rage, causing the man dressed in white to drop Ling who fell onto the floor and quickly scurried out of the way.

“Let’s take this outside.” Greed snarled out earning a smirk from the man in white.

“Sure thing.” Kimblee spoke calmly, spitting some blood onto the floor as he got up and wiped his mouth off on his hand.

The two walked out to the back alleyway of the coffee shop, Greed glaring at Kimblee as he got into a fighting position. Greed had his fair shareof prison fights and street fights, so he felt he could take on this oversized twink of a man, even if he tried to fight dirty. Kimblee walked like a refined gentleman, not a fighter, while Greed stood out as the more muscular of the two. Snow crunched underneath footsteps as the two began to circle each other slowly, waiting for the other to make the first move.

Eventually, Greed grew impatient and made the first move, diving forward with a yell as Kimblee calmly made his move, dodging swiftly wih a graceful sidestep, his hands grabbing Greed by the shoulders like a charging bull and flinging him into the brick wall of the alleyway with a sickening crunch as blood spewed from Greed’s nose and onto the brick.

“You bastard!” Greed snarled, flinging himself around as his fist rocketed towards Kimblee’s face to which the taller man deflected it with ease, sending Greed crashing to the ground, his blood swirling with snow into a fleshy pink. 

“You talk so arrogantly for a man who’s fighting style is so predictable.” Kimblee scolded with disappointment edging throughout his calm voice. “You can’t even land a hit on me to protect your little boyfriend.” 

Greed choked as Kimblee’s heel ground down upon his neck, causing his hands to grasp up and latch onto Kimblee’s leg, fingers clawing at fabric, desperate for victory as he tore Kimblee’s leg out from underneath him like a raging tide sending him plummeting to the ground. Swiftly, Greed’s legs pushed him upwards as he tackled Kimblee to the ground, his fist flying into Kimblee’s face over and over again until its returns to the wound up state brought back droplets of blood, even then Greed didn’t stop, rage consuming his soul as he snarled, bones cracking underneath a tight fist as Kimblee struggled to get out of Greed’s grasp.

Suddenly, Greed’s arm stopped. Strong arms wrapped around him, pulling him back as another pair wraped around his waist, lifting him off Kimblee. Greed flung his head about with unbridled fury, searching for the identity of his restraints. Behind him, Riza and Roy did their best to hold Greed back, preventing his bloodied hands from doing any more damage.

“Lemme go you fucks!” Greed screamed out as he struggled. “I’m gonna kill that son of a bitch if it’s the last goddamn thing I do!”

“You need to settle down Greed!” Roy spat, toghtening his grip on Greed’s waist.

“After what you’ve done you might go back to prison!” Riza scolded, tying Greed’s hands behind his back with a rope they had in the storage room. “Now we’re gonna wait for your parole officer to get here.”

As Greed was taken away from Kimblee, he took a glance at Ling, pain striking through his heart at the fear behind Ling’s eyes. He’d scared him. At this point, Greed was certain that if he ever told Ling how he felt, he’d face rejection, perhaps even worse. Maybe even a restraining order if he was unlucky enough. Greed hung his head in defeat as he walked inside, hands behind his back like the prisoner he truly was. Now Ling would only ever see him as a brutal, and violent person, and Greed wished he could take it all back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TL:DR 
> 
> Kimblee calls Ling a slur and Greed fights him, frightening Ling and getting Greed in trouble.


	8. Chapter 8

Ling paced back and forth, his shoes clacking softly against the cold, harsh tile of the waiting room of the local police station, his thoughts consuming his mind in a hurricane of thoughts. Greed was one dense idiot, fighting Kimblee like that. He didn’t have to do that! Ling knew for certain that as soon as he was allowed in to see Greed that he would give him the scolding of a lifetime.

It was rather admirable though, Ling thought to himself with a sigh, feeling a blush creep onto his cheeks as he thought about how Greed fought for him. Ling groaned as he shook his head, bringing him back to reality. It was still a bad thing for Greed to do! You can’t punch away your problems! Especialy when they’re human shaped! 

“Mr. Yao, the paperwork is complete.” An officer spoke, approaching the ebony haired man. “Allow me to take you to see the prisoner.”

“Thank you officer.” Ling spoke gently as he followed the man to the holding cells.

It was dark and damp in the cellroom, all were empty except for one. In the cell, Greed sat slumped over, his powerful hands in glistening steel cuffs and his head focused downwards in defeat as he stared at his ragged and torn shoes. Greed barely even flinched as the officer walked forward, keys jangling as he unlocked the cell with a click.

“So what prison am I going to, sir?” Greed spat, venom in the honorific.

“Actually, you’re being released on bail.” The officer sighed, dissapointment in his voice. God did Ling hate cops.

That seemed to get Greed’s attention however, his head snapping upwards, shock in his eyes as he asked, “Who on Earth do I even know that can pay that large of a bail?” As Greed looked around, his eyes finally landed on Ling.

Ling let out a sheepish smile as he waved at Greed. “The paperwork’s finished.” Ling said awkwardly as Greed’s handcuffs were removed. “Now let’s get out of here.”

Greed nodded, following Ling out of the police station in awe. Ling smiled to himself as he walked with Greed for a while, it was kind of cute how in shock the man was. Ling’s hand reached out gently, fingertips grazing Greed’s as he took him by the hand, gently giving him a flick with his other hand. 

“You are the most reckless and stupid person I’ve ever known.” Ling scolded, watching as a blush of embarrassment flooded Greed’s face. Cute.

“Yeah yeah.” Greed sighed, his grip tightening gently around Ling’s hand. “The more important question is how the hell did you pay my bail? You work at a coffee shop.”

“My last name is Yao, you know.” Ling admitted with a shy chuckle.

“What like Yao insurance?” Greed joked, his hand slipping out of Ling’s reluctantly.

“Yup!” Ling beamed, slinding his now empty hand into his coat pocket, missing the warmth of Greed’s grasp. “My dad’s the CEO.”

“And you’re working at a coffee shop?” Greed asked with a shocked chuckle. 

Ling smiled as he stopped in his tracks in front of an apartment door. “Yes, because I enjoy it way more than working in a stuffy office like my father.” 

“Oh, is this where you live?” Greed questioned with a sadness in his voice as he turned to leave. 

“And where do you think you’re going?” Ling asked as he reached out, grabbing Greed by the wrist. “Man you’re so rude, not even coming inside for a meal!”

“You actually want me around?” Greed asked, a startled expression on his face. “You’re not scared of me?”

“Hell no.” Ling spoke with the cutest smile. “Now come inside and help me make dinner.”

“A-alright.” Greed smiled, a blush creeping across his cheeks as Ling dragged him through the door by the hand.

As Ling locked the door behind him, he took off his shoes, motioning for Greed to do the same. Ling smiled as Greed fumbled with his laces, a blush creeping across his face as he thought about how adorable the convict was. Ling knew he had felt this way towards Greed for a while, and he was near certain that Greed felt the same. Soft carpet carressed agile toes as Ling walked through the living room, guiding Greed to the kitchen. As the two of them began to make dinner together, Ling decided to strike up conversation.

“So, are you gay?” He asked, mimicking Greed’s question from earlier in the day.

“W-why do you ask?” Greed question, a blush crawling across his adorable face yet again. 

Ling’s heart fluttered at how adorably shy this large convict acted, as if Ling would bite him or something. With a devilish smirk, Ling leaned in close to Greed, brushing his fingers across Greed’s ina motion that made it look accidental as he listened carefully to Greed’s heart pick up it’s pace.

“Allow me to rephrase the question,” Ling began with a cheeky smile, hopping up onto the counter as the water began to boil in the pot on the stove. “Do you like me, romantically?”

If Ling thought Greed looked cute before, then the way Greed’s face absolutely fumed red with embarrassment was absolutely adorable in every way. 

“Fine.” Greed sighed, avoiding eye contact with Ling. “I like you, romantically. You’re just so nice to me, a-and you look so attractive and-“

That was all Ling needed to hear as he grabbed Greed by the shirt, pulling him closer and kissing him passionately, reveling in the shocked expression on Greed’s face with a soft giggle. As Ling pulled away for a breath, he chuckled even more at the adorably shocked expression plastered onto Greed’s face.

“And I like you too, you dumbass.” Ling smiled, his hands moving up and gently caressing Greed’s cheeks with a deep love. “You just took too long to ask me out, dummy.”

“Y-you like me back?” Greed stammered out in shock.

“No, I hate you with every fiber of my being.” Ling teased with an adorable pout. “Yes I like you back you idiot!”

Gentle hands full of power reached up and gently held Ling as Greed leaned forward, pressing his lips to Ling in another kiss. Ling smiled through the kiss, pressing back as his eyes fluttered closed and he enjoyed the love that he was given.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally! The chapter we’ve all been waiting for!!! AFTER 7 CHAPTERS WE FINALLY GET TO IT! Hope you guys are enjoying so far! The ride isn’t over yet so hold on tight!   
> Don’t forget that comments fuel my soul and I read every single one!~


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Sadly I’ve lost pretty much all motivation for this fic and so this will most likely be the last chapter as I am discontinuing this fic. Maybe there will be additional chapters in the future but it is extremely unlikely. With that being said, you are fully free to add on to this work with your own drabbles and stuff so long as you credit this original work! Again I am very sorry to be discontinuing this work as Greedling is a very good ship but in general if not one of my favorites but I dont have the motivation for it anymore

“Aaaand, done!” Ling said cheerfully, punctuating his sentence with the click of a pen as he shuffled paperwork against the table. “Everything’s all sorted out! You’re off parole and ready to take on the world!” 

“More or less.” Greed grumbled, staring down into his can of beer grumpily.

“What’s been buggin you?” Ling wondered, strutting over to his boyfriend on the couch and splaying himself out across the man’s lap with a cheerful smirk. “You’ve been all grumpy lately. Haven’t you been getting enough kisses?” As if to make a point, Ling leaned upwards, peppering Greed’s face with kisses.

“Ling, stop.” Greed chuckled, a smile on his face. “I just, got kicked out of my old place is all, been stayin with some old friends at the old abandoned railroad, but the nights have been getting colder you know.”

“You’re homeless?!” Ling exclaimed, cupping Greed’s cheeks with an adorable pout. “You could have at least told me! You can stay here! Free of charge and everything!”

“B-but I don’t want to be a bother!” Greed spoke, his voice muffled by his squished cheeks.

“Greed, my darling, my love, my absolute treasure. You aren’t bothering me by staying here.” Ling spoke, cuddling close to Greed. “I love you, I don’t mind if we share the same space, you can move in whenever you like.”

“Thank you Ling.” Greed spoke, his arms wrapping around his beloved boyfriend. “I guess I just, don’t quite know how it all works. I’ve never had a boyfriend before after all.”

“Really? You’ve never dated anyone?” Ling asked, sprawling out as his hands moved up to play with Greed’s hair.

“Not a soul.” Greed confirmed, holding a hand up. “Jailbird’s honor.”

“But why?”

Flashes flew through Greed’s mind at that question. Flashes of his father’s face, a scowl adorning it as chapped lips screamed at him, a hand smacking across his face, cigarette burns on his chest. Subconsciously, Greed moved his hand upwards, feeling at his chest, fingertips grazing through fabric at each scar, memories flooding to him. Voices echoing through his mind as his heart began to race, panic seeping in to his very soul as he became breathless, his violet gaze dialating as his mind began to haze and it became harder and harder to breathe, the sound of his own heart overpowering his hearing, overpowering Ling’s voice as the voices became louder and louder, thundering through his head.

“I won’t have a fag for a son!”

“No son of mine will ever date another man!”

“Don’t defy your father, brat!”

“You’ll grow up to be a worthless whore!”

“You’re not my son.”

“Greed! Greed are you alright?” Another voice called out, a gentle touch caressing his shoulders as a worried face came into view, ebony hair tied back into a low ponytail like a waterfall made of the shimmering night sky, steel grey eyes filled with concern as they looked through Greed’s own violet ones.

“Y-yeah. J-just had a bad memory is all.” Greed lied, his hands shaking violently. “J-just a bad... bad memory.”

“I’ll get you some water, okay?” Ling spoke before hurrying off to the kitchen.

Greed sat in silence, looking down at his trembling hands. They wouldn’t stop, why wouldn’t they stop? He wished they would just stop.


End file.
